CinTinque

CinTinque unwittingly began in 2009 when Cindy & Tink decided to quit smoking & needed to keep their hands & minds busy. The first efforts were simple bead stringing on elastic cord. Little did they know that elastic cord was the gateway drug to hammers & torches! It wasn't long until they discovered their love for creating unique pieces of jewelry from metal, happily hammering, stamping, form folding & enameling any piece of copper they could find.

Along the way, they saw a TV show that featured people going to a steampunk party & it really sparked their imagination. They bought the next old pocket watch they found. Here began the obsession with creating pieces from old watches & giving them a new life. The search for watches let them start finding other objects of interest. Nothing is off limits! An old rusted water heater drain pan? Check! An old Monopoly game piece? Check! A Cornish hen wishbone? Why not? What about insects found in car grills? You betcha!

Over the years, new techniques were explored. Cindy's grandfather & great grandfather were jewelers by trade. Unfortunately she moved away in her early teens & didn't get a chance to learn the skills. But she clearly remembers drooling over all of the diamonds, rubies & incredible tools. Eventually she inherited an antique metal roller that Tink calls "the beast"! He rolls coins into mind blowingly long pieces of metal for Cindy to use to create things. Pennies from 1982 & back have enough copper content that they can be annealed & enameled. "Smashed" pennies are turned into great earrings & necklaces! Who knew? Tink has become quite skilled at silversmithing. A lot of his pieces incorporate fossilized dinosaur bone, fossilized coral, ocean jasper & other amazing stones that our wonderful Earth created millions of years ago. He is now cutting & polishing his own stones & Fordite.

CinTinque loves going to various festivals & engaging with people from all walks of life. They enjoy explaining their unique little pieces of art to anyone that will listen. The hardest thing about making jewelry?.... Cindy deciding if she wants to keep the piece or let someone else enjoy wearing it for years to come!